Favorite Halloween Costumes: Jersey Shore, Lady Gaga, Avatar

2010 A Not So Scary Halloween for Retailers

as Consumers Get Into the Spirits of the Holiday

NEW YORK NY October 6- After a really scary 2009, the coming Halloween season will be less frightening for retailers. According to Brand Keys, the New York-based brand and customer loyalty consultancy (www.brandkeys.com), this season consumers intend to spend 15% over last year, or nearly $70.00 to celebrate the holiday.

“This year the holiday falls on a Sunday,” said Robert Passikoff, Brand Keys president. “That means that the celebration will start Friday night and run through the weekend, and consumers are already gearing up. Given the economy, consumers are looking for something to celebrate. And it won’t have escaped anyone’s notice that retailers, hoping for more than a ghost of a chance this year, started advertising Halloween candy, costumes, and decorations more than a month and a half ago.  That hasn’t hurt the holiday spending momentum either.”

According to the 6,000 consumers polled by Brand Keys, half of their intended spend ($34.00) will go for costumes. Among young adults, 18 to 24 years of age, the top-10 favored costumes are:

1. Jersey Shore cast member
2. Lady Gaga
3. Avatar character
4. Snooki
5. President Obama
6. Iron Man
7. Buzz Lightyear/Woody
8. Pirate
9. Alice In Wonderland/Mad Hatter
10. Batman

Children are sticking with the traditional tried and true. Girls are planning on being witches, princesses, ballerinas, angels, and pop stars, while boys plan to be pirates, cowboys, skeletons, superheroes, policemen and firemen.

“It’s been said that there’s nothing so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night,” noted Passikoff, “so it’s no surprise that a third of this year’s Halloween spend ($24.00) will go for treats, mostly in the form of the expected candy gift. “You can have all the costumes you want,” noted Passikoff, “but without candy you don’t have a real Halloween.” This year the top-10 most coveted candies were:

1. Hershey Chocolate Kisses
2. Snickers
3. Nerds/3 Musketeers
4. M&Ms
5. Gummies
6. Nestlé Crunch/MARS bar
7. Candy Corn/Twix
8. Reese’s Pieces
9. Tootsie Roll/Pops
10. Hot Tamales/Kit Kats

The remaining 20% of this year’s Halloween spend will go towards cards and decorations. “Even in this electronic age, nearly 10% of the estimated spend is going for Halloween cards,” noted Passikoff.  Since the holiday spans an entire weekend, 63% of the respondents indicated that they were going to host or attend a Halloween party.

“The economy’s been down and it’s been a scary time for retailers,” said Passikoff,” but things are looking up, particularly right now. I think it’s safe to say that this year retailers can count on a boo-tiful Halloween.”

Contact: Brand Keys

Robert Passikoff

212 532 6028 x12